APPLETON — Local boy Cory Chisel knows what Appleton has to offer— and he’s ready to preach the gospel with an entourage of homegrown and imported talent.

This week, the city’s downtown will be transformed into a musical oasis, teeming with unique tunes and shining a spotlight on local businesses that open their doors to new customers.

“There is a kindness here and a sense of giving things a shot. I see open-mindedness here that you wouldn’t find elsewhere,” Chisel said in reflecting on 300 days on the road in 2012. “We have a great environment for it downtown. We also have high enthusiasm per capita.”

The Mile of Music festival, which opens Thursday, has three main components: Showcasing the downtown by putting music fans into bars, restaurants and coffee shops; featuring hand-picked acts to broaden musical pallets; and returning profits to local music education and downtown development efforts.

Chisel hopes to ride a wave of live performances that propelled cities like Austin, Texas, Manchester, Tenn., and Park City, Utah, into must-see indie bellwethers. More than 107 artists will put on 182 shows at 41 venues during the four-day festival in Appleton.

The intimate settings are key to the event, said Mary Hirvela, marketing communications manager for the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“Our bars, restaurants and coffee shops can showcase their facilities and give you an opportunity to see these acts up close and personal,” Hirvela said. “Camaraderie among businesses throughout the Fox Cities will help make it a success. Owners from Neenah to Little Chute immediately wanted to get on board.”

Hirvela said state tourism marketers are watching the inaugural event closely, along with national booking agencies, to see how both organizers and the city perform.

Uniquely equipped mile

The festival will stretch down College Avenue, with musicians performing at indoor and outdoor locales throughout downtown.

Concert-goers can peruse the free events and walk from spot to spot, said Jennifer Stephany, executive director of Appleton Downtown Inc.

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“Walk-ability is huge because we have this linear downtown with a concentration of venues,” Stephany said. “We have plenty of parking and two bucks is pretty cheap.”

The downtown corridor hosts 3,230 parking stalls in its ramps and 665 metered stalls. Planners also hope to utilize the more than 2,800 rooms available in the Fox Valley.

The avenue fits since it has a distinct vibe with small businesses, said Dave Willems, chief executive officer of Willems Marketing, the festival’s coordinator.

“College Avenue fit from the minute we started thinking about this artisan, handcrafted festifval that will evolve and grow,” Willems said. “It has multiple venues of different sizes and a nice, long walkable stretch.”

Downtown is uniquely situated to handle crowds, said Susan Vanden Heuvel, executive director of Octoberfest, set to run on Sept. 28.

Vanden Heuvel said Octoberfest and its 100,000 attendees runs without a hitch due to a small army of 650 volunteers and careful planning— both crucial to the new festival.

“Going to college I’d never thought I’d be calculating the size of Porta-Potties and howmany people they would service and how to position them correctly,” Vanden Heuvel said. “Those are the things that leave a first impression and you have to get right.”

Like Octoberfest, Mile of Music is aimed at generating revenue for philanthropic causes.

Proceeds will go toward a new education fund to benefit music at Appleton public schools and a “Creative Downtown Fund” to generate revenue for downtown projects.

Taking cues from others

Chisel and event planners have taken notes from other successful festivals, hoping to infuse the best of each.

The nonprofit model has gathered steam nationwide. Last weekend, Detroit hosted a new music festival called “Oakaloosa” to benefit local programs and shine a positive light on the city.

“There’s a trend toward philanthropic events because it’s an alternate way to take heat off ticket sales and you get a lot of help,” said Adrian Pittman, director of marketing for Module, the group that put on the Detroit shows. “Music is so accessible online now, but events like this are all about community. It’s a real stage with familiar and new faces. It’s a visceral experience.”

Pittman called multiact festivals a “cultural phenomenon” that allow fans to “feast on variety.”

Cities around the country are trying to capture the trendy vibe at the annual South by Southwest festival held in Austin, Texas. The two week extravaganza is focused on independent music, film and interaction and features more than 2,000 acts.

The party pumps nearly $200 million in the Austin economy.

Shilpa Bakre, spokeswoman for Austin’s convention and visitors bureau, said local support is vital.

“Locals are very enthusiastic about supporting artists, and we have more than 250 live music venues. Austin also has more than 2,000 working musicians,” Bakre wrote in an email. “All of our music endeavors started with local support.”